Welcome to Horror Explorer. A curated column highlighting this month’s best movies, series, books, and anything spooky worth checking out. I’m William Earl, Variety’s executive digital director and the magazine’s resident horror enthusiast. If there’s anything you’d like to see in next month’s public records, please contact us at wearl@variety.com.
marquee madness
Image credit: 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS
“Predator: Badlands” (in theaters Nov. 7) — A prequel to the alien action series starring Elle Fanning and the follow-up to this year’s solid animated film “Predator: Killer of Killers.” Director Dan Trachtenberg, who also helmed the 2022 masterpiece Prey, depicts the journey of a young Predator as he fights for his life.
“The Keeper” (in theaters Nov. 14 via Neon) – Oz Perkins returns with his second film of the year, but this isolated, paranoid vision feels a world away from the gory comedy of “The Monkey.” The film, starring Tatiana Maslany and Rosif Sutherland, is being promoted with an impressionistic teaser aimed at keeping fans guessing how things will unfold.
off the beaten path
Image credit: Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures
“The Carpenter’s Son” (in theaters Nov. 14 from Magnolia Pictures) — Nicolas Cage plays Joseph in this horror film about the life of young Jesus (Noah Jupe). It’s as ridiculously fun as the premise sounds, and that’s before Jesus seriously confronts Satan. Writer and director Lotfi Nathan somehow manages to put together this wild vision.
“The Zodiac Killer Project” (in theaters Nov. 21 via Music Box Films) — This meta film from director Charlie Shackleton premiered at Sundance earlier this year and won the NEXT Innovator Award. This documentary is more a meditation on the true crime genre itself than a blow-by-blow examination of an elusive killer.
killer series
Image credit: Provided by Shudder
“The Creep Tapes” (Season 2) (premiering Nov. 15 on Shudder) — Mark Duplass returns as the bloodthirsty Peach Fuzz in the series adaptation of this wonderfully insane film franchise. The short episode length encourages bite-sized sketches of madness for those of us who wish it was still spooky season.
appalling book
Image credit: Provided by Berkeley
The Place Where They Buried Your Heart by Christina Henry (released November 4th by Berkley) This chilling story tells the story of a young girl named Jesse, whose brother is “eaten” by an abandoned house, never to return. Years later, Jesse searches for answers in Christina Henry’s slow-burn, character-driven haunted house novels.
Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World: A Novel of Horror by Cullen Bunn (Gallery Books on sale November 11) – Marvel Comics author Cullen Bunn tells the story of a southern town overrun by evil and its residents who must fight back after a suspected serial killer is arrested. A highly detailed and lively read, the hard-fought Wilson Island becomes more real and the threats seem increasingly urgent.
